The Legend of Durc
by Kuhu
Summary: Please do not review the first five chapters; they need heavy editing. Yes, I know the mistakes I made, believe me. Thank you. Unable to endure Broud's continued torment, Durc makes the recklass decision to leave the Clan. But what awaits him is new territory, trouble hunting, and leadership. Durc will have to deal with all these, and more, if he plans to live without the Clan.
1. Trouble in the Clan

Chapter One: Trouble in the Clan 

"The Spirit of Light Dry Snow took the Spirit of Granular Snow and his mate, and, after a time, she gave birth to a Mountain of Ice far to the north. The Sun Spirit hated the glittering child spreading across the land as he grew, keeping away his warmth so no grass could grow. The Sun decided to destroy Ice Mountain, but Storm Cloud Spirit, the sibling of Granular Snow, found out the Sun wanted to kill her child. In the summer, when the Sun was most powerful, Storm Cloud Spirit fought with him to save Ice Mountain's life.

"_On some days, the Sun won the battle, and beat down on the hard, cold ice, turning it to water, draining Ice Mountain's life away. But many days Storm Cloud won, covering the face of the Sun, keeping his heat from melting the Ice Mountain too much. Though Ice Mountain starved and shrunk in summer, in winter, his mother took the nourishment her mate brought and nursed her son back to health. Every summer, the Sun struggled to destroy Ice Mountain, but Storm Cloud kept the Sun from melting all that the mother had fed her child the winter before. At the beginning of each new winter, Ice Mountain was always a little bigger then he had been the winter before; he grew larger, spread farther, covered more land every year. _

"_And, as he grew, a great cold went before him. The winds howled, the snow swirled, and Ice Mountain spread, creeping closer to the place where the People lived. The Clan shivered, huddling close to the fire while the snow fell on them. _

"_The Clan didn't know what to do. 'Why are the spirits of our totems no longer protecting us? What have we done to make them angry with us?' The mog-ur decided to go off by himself to find the spirits and talk to them. he was gone a long time. Many people became restless waiting for the mog-ur to return, especially the younger ones. _

"_But Durc was more impatient then anyone. 'The mog-ur will never come back,' he said. 'Our totems don't like the cold, they have gone away. We should leave, too.'_

"'_We cannot leave our home,' the leader said. 'This is where the Clan has always lived. It is the home of our ancestors. It is the home of the spirits of our totems. They have not gone away. They are unhappy with us, but they will be more unhappy without a place, away from the home they now. We cannot leave and take them away. Where would we go?'_

"'_Our totems have already left,' Durc argued. 'If we find a better home, they may come back. We can go to the south, following the birds that flee from the cold in autumn, and to the east, to the land of the Sun. we can go where Ice Mountain cannot reach us. Ice Mountain moves slowly; we can run like the wind. He would never catch us. If we stay here, we will freeze.'_

"'_No. we must wait for mog-ur. He will return and tell us what to do,' the leader commanded. But Durc would not listen to his sound advice. He pleaded and argued with the People and a few were swayed. They decided to leave with Durc. _

"'_Stay,' the others begged. 'Stay until the mog-ur returns.'_

"_Durc would not pay attention. 'The mog-ur will not find the spirits. He will never return. We are leaving now. Come with us to find a new place where Ice Mountain cannot live.'_

"'_No,' they replied. 'We will wait.'_

"_Mothers and their mates grieved for the young men and women who left, sure they were doomed. They waited for the mog-ur, but, after many days had passed, and the mog-ur still hadn't returned, they began to doubt. They began to wonder if they should have left with Durc._

"_Then, one day, the Clan saw a strange animal approaching, an animal who was not afraid of the fire. The People were frightened and stared in wonder. They had never seen such an animal before. But, when it came closer, they saw it wasn't an animal at all, it was the mog-ur! He was covered with the fur of a cave bear. He had finally come back. He told the Clan what he had learned from Ursus, the Spirit of the Great Cave Bear._

"_Ursus taught the People to live in caves, to wear the fur of animals, to hunt and gather in the summer and save food for winter. The People of the Clan always remembered what Ursus taught them, and, though Ice Mountain tried, he could not drive the People from their home. No matter how much cold and snow Ice Mountain sent before him, the People would not move, they would not get out of the way. _

"_Finally, Ice Mountain gave up. He sulked and wouldn't fight the Sun anymore. Storm Cloud became angry because Ice Mountain would not fight, and refused to help him anymore. Ice Mountain left the land and went back to his home in the north, and the great cold left with him. The Sun exulted at his victory, and chased him all the way to his northern home. There was no place he could hide from the great heat, and he was defeated. For many, many ears, there was no winter, only long days of summer. _

"_But Granular Snow grieved for her lost child, and the grief made her weak. Light Dry Snow wanted her to have another son, and asked Storm Cloud Spirit for help. Storm Cloud felt pity for his sibling, and he helped Light Dry Snow to bring her nourishment to make her strong. He covered the face of the Sun again while Light Dry Snow hovered near, sprinkling his spirit for Granular Snow to swallow. She gave birth again to another Ice Mountain, but the People remembered what Ursus had taught them. ice Mountain will never drive the Clan from their home. _

"_And what happened to Durc and those who left with him? It is said by some they were eaten by wolves and lions, and by some they were drowned in the great waters. Others say that, when they reached the land of the Sun, he became angry because Durc and his people wanted his land. He sent a ball of fire down from the sky to devour them. they disappeared, and no one ever saw them again." _

Durc felt happy as the story ended. It was his favourite story, as it had been his mother's. As the Clan began to go back to their hearths, he walked back to his, Ura following close behind. He seated himself on his furs at his hearth, and barely had time to get settled before Broud came over.

'Durc,' he motioned, walking right into the hearth as though the boundaries didn't even exist. Uba, sitting on the opposite end of the hearth, and Vorn, her mate, sat next to her. Broud hardly noticed the man to whom the hearth belonged, which could only mean something about Durc had angered him…again.

'You are to stay here tomorrow,' Broud said. 'You are not coming with us on the hunt tomorrow.'

'What?!' gestured Durc, outraged. 'I can hunt as well as anyone, Broud!'

'You will stay here!' Broud said, angry. 'A deformed man has no place on a hunt!'

'I am not deformed!' Durc said, angry, standing up and glaring at the leader. As they continued to argue, Brun, watching from another corner of the cave, felt, once again, the pang of disappointment. He was not happy with how the son of his mate had turned out, but he could not say anything. Broud was leader now.

'Mog-ur was wrong to let you live!' he said. 'He was a fool, but that is nothing compared to your mother! She was worse! She should never have been accepted into the Clan! She was a stupid woman!'

And Durc hit him. He had few memories of Creb, the Mog-ur, and just as few of his mother, the one they called Ayla, but he was not about to let Broud insult either of them.

Broud looked at him, stunned, unable to hit back. 'Don't you ever insult Mama,' Durc motioned furiously, 'or the Mog-ur, either. I will stay here if you wish, and I will not object, but I will not allow you to speak about Mama that way!'

Durc turned away. He sat beside Ura and clenched his fists to control his temper. He had made Broud angrier, he knew, by referring to his mother as "Mama". She had told him to call her that – one of his few memories of her was playing a game with her, where they would make odd noises, and he said "mama". He could remember her saying, "That's right, Durc. Call me 'Mama'." And he had never done anything different. Never since then had he used the Clan sign meaning "mother". Broud didn't like it. Most of the Clan didn't like it – they didn't like unnecessary noise – but he had never stopped. Broud, especially, hated it. He hated everything to do with Mama.

_I hate it here_, Durc said. _I am never allowed to hunt, never counted for anything. And, at the Clan Gathering this year, I was only told to compete in the races! It is not fair that Broud does this to me. …I'm not deformed…am I? _

'Durc,' Grev said, then made a motion telling him to come foreword. Grev had always been Durc's friend, almost brother, since Broud's mate, Oga, had nursed them as children. Durc came to him and the other men, sitting in the circle. Sitting down with them, Grev filled Durc in on the conversation.

'We were discussing the Clan Gathering this year,' Grev said. 'We lost a lot of status. We went from being first at the Clan Gathering to last.'

'And we lost in all the contests, except the races you did, Durc,' Grev's older brother, Brac, motioned, 'and, if we did win, no one believed it was on our own merit.'

'It's because we continued to compete, even after the others were tired,' Durc said. 'Brun would never have allowed it.'

'You're right,' Brac motioned. 'My mother's mate's mother's mate was a far better leader.'

'All of this is Broud's fault,' Durc put in suddenly, angry. 'He thinks only of himself, not for the good of the Clan. You know he excluded me from yet another hunt?'

'What?!' Grev said, looking disbelieving. 'He did not.'

'He did,' Durc motioned solemnly. 'I do not think I will be able to stay here much longer.'

'Don't talk like that!' Brac motioned. 'You have a mate to think about! You can't just leave the Clan.'

'If this continues,' Durc continued, looking at Brac determinedly, 'I will not even be able to provide for Ura, or her children. I must leave soon.'

The other men simply stared at him, all of them wishing Broud never caught wind of the plan, for Durc's sake.


	2. Leaving

Chapter Two: Leaving

Durc always thought of the future. Although Ura did not yet have children, Durc was worried about what would happen to her if he would never be able to provide for her. If he had become the Mog-ur, if Broud had let Goov take him as acolyte instead of a new child, Zoun, providing for his mate would not be a problem. But no, Broud had not wanted a "deformed" man to become the next Mog-ur. Durc's fist tightened in anger. He spoke as though their previous Mog-ur hadn't been deformed.

Durc was thinking of the future now. And the future wasn't looking good.

'Ura,' he said, after tapping his mate on the shoulder, 'I would like to go outside. I would like you to come with me.'

'Yes, Durc,' she said, hurrying to get up and put things away. Durc put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jerk her head up at him.

'Ura,' Durc motioned, 'I know your mother raised you to be a good Clan woman, and that is fine, but do not act that way to me. I have told you before. I want you to take your time, to speak freely to me. Treat me as though I were another woman, or as though you were another man.'

Ura continued to look at him for a moment, confusion and discomfort in her eyes, before continuing at a slower pace. Durc waited patiently as she finished, then stood up to go with him. She walked beside Durc as they went outside, though not because she wanted to – Durc would slow down to match her pace, no matter how slow she went, so she gave up. It made her feel very uncomfortable, though.

Durc led her out to a special, secret path, and up to a beautiful clearing. Uba had shown it to him years ago, saying it was the place where his mother had always gone when she was upset. And so Durc came here, simply for the connection to his mother. It was a long way from their new cave, but they could still make it to and from there in under a day – by some luck, there had been a suitable, though not nearly so convenient cave, close by to their old one.

Durc pushed back the bushes hiding the entrance to the cave, and held them back for Ura, who went through. He followed, and sat beside her in the space, but on a bit of an angle, so that she could see him talk.

'Ura,' he began, 'Broud has not been treating you well.'

Ura began to protest, and Durc held up a hand.

'I have seen what he is like,' Durc motioned, 'and I have seen how he treats women. Especially you.'

Ura bowed her head in shame, glancing up through her thin brow ridges. 'Broud does treat me badly. No matter how hard I try, I can never please him.'

'Few women can,' Durc motioned. 'It is because we look the way we do that he does not like us.'

'I admit we are deformed,' Ura said, 'and that we should not be alive because of it, but we are, so Broud should not be so mean.'

'You are right, Ura,' Durc said, proud of his mate, 'you are good at seeing the justice behind things.' He put a hand temporarily on her arm before he continued speaking. 'But it must not be easy for you, Ura, being new to the Clan and having Broud treat you that way.'

'It is hard,' Ura said, then pulled herself up a little taller and looked determined. 'But I am a good Clan woman. I will not complain.'

'Ura...' Durc said, 'you may not have to go through this much longer.' Ura looked up at him, and he continued. 'I do not plan to stay in the Clan for much longer, Ura.'

'Durc,' Ura exclaimed, 'Durc, you can't!'

'Can't what, Ura?' he questioned bitterly. 'If you mean stay in the Clan, then yes, you are right. If I do not leave, Ura, I will not be able to provide for you or the children you may have. If you do not wish to come, that is fine. You will be given to another man and he will provide for you. But I will miss you, Ura.'

'I will miss you, too, Durc,' she motioned. 'I do not want you to leave, but if you must, I will come with you. My torment would only continue if I were to stay.'

Durc nodded his head slowly. 'So you will come. I am happy.' He stood up. 'I will talk to some of the other men. Perhaps Grev will come, and his mate. I hope mother will,' he said, using the Clan sign to refer to Uba. 'I would miss her very much.'

'If Uba comes,' Ura said, 'Vorn will not. He is too faithful to Broud.'

'Yes, you are right,' Durc said. 'I hope she will leave anyway, but she is too good a Clan woman.'

'She is a good Clan woman, but she is also strong,' Ura said. 'She is independent; I am sure she will go.'

'Yes, you are right,' Durc said. 'Normally, that is not a good quality for a woman, but I think I like it in this case.' He looked at Ura. 'Actually, to be honest, I have always liked independence in a woman.'

Ura looked uncomfortable again, and Durc tapped her shoulder. 'We will go back to the cave,' he said. 'I must still talk to Grev, and to mother.'

'Yes, Durc,' Ura said, standing up and following him out. They walked side by side back to the cave, but they paused as they went, and Durc took her to the side.

'Ura,' Durc said, 'I would like you to talk to mother. You are also a woman – she will respond better to you then to me.'

'Yes, Durc,' she motioned, and walked in and to their hearth. Durc walked over to Broud's hearth, and stopped just at the edge, motioning to Grev.

'Come, Grev,' he said. 'I would like to speak with you.'

'I will come, Durc,' Grev said, standing up. He and Durc walked to a special corner of the cave, one that was particularly secluded. 'I wanted to talk to you about the plan I had, to go away,' Durc said.

'Durc,' Grev motioned in surprise. He glanced around, then leaned closer to Durc. 'Durc, I never thought you would actually leave,'

'I will leave, Grev. I have to,' Durc motioned solemnly. 'Ura has already agreed to come with me, and mother might, as well. But I want you to come, Grev. You are like a brother to me. I would be sorry to leave you.'

Grev thought for a moment, and quickly made up his mind. 'I will come, Durc,' he said. 'I would not leave you. I may convince Brac to come, but he loves the mate of our mother. But your mother saved him, Durc, and I think I can use that to help convince him. I also hope my mother can come. I do not want Goov – he is too loyal to Broud, but his acolyte, Zoun, is more rebellious. Zoun knows all he has to – he can be our Mog-ur.'

'Good,' Durc said. 'Mother will certainly bring Arba along; she will not leave her daughter, she has only one child. I think we can also convince Aga and Droog to come – Mama saved their daughter Ona, and they named their new daughter after her, though Broud got mad at them for it. Ayla is still young – she was only just named fourteen days ago – but I believe they will come.'

They talked some more about who else they may bring, and got so involved, they failed to notice when Brun came over. They looked up at him, somewhat guilty, certain he would turn them over to Broud.

'Durc, Grev,' Brun began, taking a deep breath, 'I would like to help you. I am old, I am near death, but I can give Broud a false story, to take him off your trail.'

'I am pleased, Brun,' Grev motioned, truly grateful. 'I would like that.'

Brun nodded once, then walked back to his hearth. Grev followed to his own, and Durc returned to his.

'I will come, Durc,' Uba said to him, 'as will Arba. But Durc,' and she looked somewhat concerned, 'I am pregnant again. I may be more of a hindrance to you then a help.'

Durc shook his head. 'You are a medicine woman, mother. You will never be a hindrance. More importantly,' he leaned forward, 'you remember Mama. I would not like to leave without you.'

Uba bowed her head in submission. 'Yes, Durc. I will.'

'Good,' Durc motioned. 'Grev will talk to others tonight, then tell me what they say. But be ready to leave quickly – if anyone decides to report to Broud, we will have to leave quickly.

'We will be ready, Durc,' Uba motioned.

Durc felt happy. 'What will you name your child, mother?'

'I am unsure, Durc,' she said. 'If I have another girl, I wish to name her Agra.'

'It is a good name,' Durc said. 'I will be happy to see your baby.'

Uba looked pleased. 'So will I.'

At that moment, Broud came over to talk to Vorn, who was at the other side of the hearth. Durc, Ura, and Uba decided to stop talking, and secretly watched their conversation, wanting to know whether or not Broud knew about their plan, but he didn't. Uba began cooking, and pretended to be checking the food as she motioned to Durc.

'I will be ready to leave for tomorrow, Durc,' she said. 'I will not pack too much, but I can use the excuse I must go out to search for medicines.'

Durc nodded, then quickly pretended nothing was happening. As far as anyone knew, Durc was simply upset, nothing more.

Of course, few of them knew the truth. And those that did already knew they would leave with Durc.


	3. Sneaking out

Chapter Three: Sneaking out

The people of the Clan could not lie. But all of those leaving with Durc had an excuse when dawn rolled around.

Durc was going to hunt with his sling; Grev, Brac, and Droog came with him, and Aga and her daughters came to help them and to gather food. Uba took Ura and Arba along to collect medicines, and had decided the area near where Durc would be hunting would be a good area to look for some alder bark. Zoun had decided the same area would be a nice place to find some hops, which he wanted to use in a ritual. Other members of the clan had found other reasons to leave.

Only a few people were staying: Brun, who was too old, Vorn, who was too loyal, those members of the clan for whom moving was hard, and Goov, who's loyalty to Broud was based on his loyalty to the older members of the clan. Broud had no way of knowing it, but his clan was about to drop down to less than six members from twenty.

As Brun saw the people leave, he felt sorrow weigh heavily on his heart as he realised he would never see those he loved. His siblings were both dead; Ebra had passed just that summer. Zoug, Droog, and Grod had also passed. Very few of Brun's old clan remained, and it pained him to see the young ones he'd grown to love go as well.

Broud was furious so many had gone. Even Oga was going. All that stayed were the old people, and a few others. He couldn't have the women get him a drink, or a strip of meat, or any other little thing he wanted, because the only ones that remained were too old to do much, and had taken to turning away from him when the saw him so that they wouldn't see him request anything. Furious, he went to Brun and furiously demanded an explanation.

'I don't know where they're going, Broud,' Brun said. 'All I know is that some are hunting and that some are gathering food. If you do not trust your clan enough, Broud, go follow them.'

Broud, at a loss, simply stared at the mate of his mother before going off. _Stupid old man_, he thought to himself. _He still acts like he's leader! Why is he always so calm?! Why can't he see how disobedient everyone is?! Why can't he give me support?! People still respect him – why don't they respect me?!_

The people had gathered in the secret clearing where Ayla had come when she lived with the clan, and where Durc had been nervously waiting. He repressed the urge to pull back his lips and expose his teeth; it was a habit Uba had told him he had learned from his mother, who used to do that when she was happy. Right now, Durc felt glad so many people had come.

'Is this everyone?' Durc asked.

'Yes, it is,' Grev said. 'Only a few have remained.'

'That is good,' Durc said. 'We will have many hunters.'

'That is good,' Grev said, 'but many of the people here are women and children. We have five hunters, Durc.'

'Five is a good number,' Durc replied. 'We can hunt larger animals with five.'

'Larger animals, yes,' Grev replied. 'But it is harder with five. Storing for the winter will be a problem. Which brings up another question, Durc. Where will we go for winter?'

'I don't know,' Durc said. 'We will certainly have to go away – beyond our hunting grounds.'

'But we must stay close to the steppes,' Grev said. 'If we don't, we will not get food.'

'I know,' Durc said. 'It will be hard to decide where we should go.'

Uba sat at Durc's feet, and silently requested to speak. Durc tapped her shoulder.

'You do not have to ask to speak, mother,' he said. 'No woman needs to ask me to speak.'

'It is a woman's place, Durc,' Uba said.

'Mama never liked it when I bossed her,' Durc said. 'Mama did not act like a woman. I do not want you to act like a woman to me when Mama didn't.'

'Your mother was not Clan, Durc.'

'Mama was Clan,' Durc replied. 'But she didn't act like it. Tell me, mother, what did you want to say?

'I wanted to say, Durc, that I had an idea for where we could go.'

'Yes? Where is it?'

'I know you will not consider this—'

'I will consider what anybody says.'

'—but your mother went north after she died. The Others are there, but they are far away. Broud rarely goes north; it would be a good place for us if we wanted to avoid him.'

Durc mulled it over. It would get them away from Broud, yes, but the Others were there. _But mother said the Others were far away_, Durc said. _We shouldn't run into them. _

_But what if we do? The Others don't like us – at the last Clan Gathering they were talking about how the Others relieve their needs on Clan women without making the signal, and Ura's mother lost her first daughter because of them. The Others could be dangerous. _

_But Mama was one of the Others. She wasn't dangerous. But Mama is dead now. Did Mama's spirit go to find the Others? If so, is her spirit with them? Can we find her spirit? It will try to tempt us into the next world, that's for sure. But what if it doesn't? What if it just tells us where we can go? _

_We probably won't find the Others. Mother said they were far away. If so, does that mean we can find a cave where they won't find us? _

'It is a good suggestion,' Durc said. 'You have good ideas, mother.'

Going in front of the group, Durc waited for their attention. 'We will go north,' Durc said. 'Follow me!'

Durc began walking at the front of the group, and the people who came fell into their respective places behind him. He felt a pull on his heart as he left the place he had always called home, and a greater one as he left the place where his Mama had stayed. He wished he didn't have to leave it.

_Mama_, he thought, _you always liked the name Durc best. You always liked the legend best. You liked Durc because he was different. And you liked how I was different. _

_Mama, I hope I can make you proud of me. I hope you will like what I'm doing now. I hope you still like that I'm different. _


	4. Ayla

Chapter Four: Ayla

Jondalar paused in rolling up the furs as the woman on horseback returned. As Ayla drew closer, the two ptarmigan slung over Whinney's back became apparent. He grinned.

'You always hunt those,' he said. 'What will Wolf eat?'

'I still have some of the food Talut gave us,' Ayla responded. 'He included some meaty bones for Wolf. There's one left.'

'Just one?' Jondalar said. 'How do we feed him tomorrow?'

'I can always hunt more,' Ayla said. Jondalar marvelled at how unconcerned she seemed. 'You seem to have thought this out.'

'Of course,' Ayla said, bending down to Wolf and ruffling the fur on his neck. 'He's my baby.'

Jondalar shook his head to himself. He had never understood Ayla's attraction to the wolf. Returning his attention to the furs, it was only a short time before he had them attached securely to Racer's back.

'Are you sure there's much more we can get from your valley?' he asked.

'I just want to be sure, Jondalar,' Ayla responded. 'Besides, I remember seeing a cave not far away from where the valley ends. I want to look at it again.'

'We're not going to be staying there, Ayla,' Jondalar said.

'But we still have to plan our journey,' Ayla said. 'That cave is out of the valley, where there are cave lions, and it means we don't have to take the horses out of the valley again. That takes a long time.'

Jondalar sucked at his teeth. He didn't want to waste time.

Ayla smiled, and put a hand on his arm. 'Jondalar,' she said lightly, 'it won't take long. And we do have to plan.'

Jondalar sighed, then smiled at her. 'You're right,' he said. 'Sorry. I just want to go home.'

Ayla smiled sadly and turned away. With a lurch in his stomach, Jondalar remembered how she'd introduced herself as Ayla of No People, and how she had lost her family twice – not just when her native clan was killed, but when the Clan turned her out of their home.

'I know,' she said, no sign of her emotion creeping into her voice. 'I want to go, too.'

Jondalar went in front of her and kissed her lightly. Smiling at each other, they mounted the horses and trotted off in the direction of the valley.

_Ayla's been thinking a lot about her family_, Jondalar thought to himself as they rode. _I wonder what it is?_

*

Weary, Durc called the group to a halt. Relieved, the woman put down children and unpacked food, and men put down their burdens and stretched out their feet. Grev lit a fire with the piece of coal they had carefully preserved from home – he'd had to sneak as everyone slept to ensure they had one. He stood by Durc as the man looked out thoughtfully at the small troop of people who'd come with.

'We have less than we did going to the Clan Gathering,' Durc commented.

'We can only bring what one would use for a day trip,' Grev replied.

'True,' Durc said, then fell silent.

There had been changes, he remembered. After Broud became leader, there had been many changes.

Durc remembered how, years ago, boys had to be much older before they could be men. Brun had told him Broud hadn't become a man until he was eleven and hadn't taken a mate until he was thirteen; these numbers meant little to most of the Clan, but Durc new them, and knew things were different. Durc had been a man when he was eight years old – he had mated the year later, when Ura had become a woman. Zoun had had to learn fast, faster than Goov had needed to learn when he was acolyte to Mog-ur. Men went hunting more and came back with less. Everyone was thinner than they had been at the last Clan Gathering.

_This must work_, Durc thought. _Grey Wolf, please guide us. Save the Clan. Give me a sign the Clan will be safe. _

Something caught Durc's eye. Going over to a tree, he saw a few strands of long, grey wolf hairs caught in the bark. Feeling stunned, he snatched them quickly and fumbled to put them in his amulet.

It was a sign. His clan would find a home.

*

After a long day, Broud came back, exhausted yet spurred on by anger. It had been three days. For three days, he and what remained of his clan had subsided on dried nuts and whatever could be caught with a sling. The food they had stored to prepare for hard times had spoilt and had to be thrown out. Broud had no woman to go gathering for him, the ones that were left were too old and could only gather what was close to the cave. He had stuck it out for the first day, but on the second day had gone out himself to get food. It may be woman's work, and he was ashamed as he did it, but hunger overrode stubbornness.

Broud stormed into Brun's hearth as he entered the hut, furious. 'They're gone!' he motioned furiously. 'It's been three days! They're gone – they're all gone!'

'What did you expect, Broud?' Brun replied with forced calm. Broud's anger turned to confusion. 'What?'

'What did you expect from them, Broud?' Brun went on. 'Did you think they would be loyal to you forever? You didn't take care of them, Broud. Our status dropped at the Clan Gathering. You were mean to everybody. Nobody in the clan was happy, Broud – you must have noticed.' Brun felt the shame that had haunted him for years come to the surface, and he looked down as he motioned again. 'I should never have kept you as the son of my mate, Broud. I should never have made you a leader.'

Broud wheeled away and walked out of the cave again. He felt it was foolish, but the words stung.

'What's this?' he motioned angrily to himself. 'Are you still a boy? Do you still take shame when an old man is upset with you?'

The words didn't work. He still felt ashamed, like Brun would never want to look at him again. Sitting down on a log, for the first time Broud considered moving the remaining people to the nearest clan.

He'd had his chance. If he had known, he probably could have done something. Now it was too late.


	5. Crossing Paths

Chapter Five: Crossing Paths

Durc called the party to a halt. Wearily, people began resting. Brac began to start a fire from the coal they'd brought with them. Grev came up to him.

'Durc,' he motioned. 'It has been a long time. We have to find a home soon.'

'I know,' was all Durc said. It had been bothering him as well.

It would be new moon tonight. That meant it had been half a moon since they left. Still they didn't have a place to stay. They had to find one soon.

*

Ayla smiled fondly as she looked back down the valley. They had already explored the caves nearby, and had slept in several of them. It had taken a while, but it didn't seem to matter much. She'd only been there a year, but it still held so many memories for her. It had taken her three moons to get there, she remembered. It didn't seem so long now. Her eyes travelled up until they were looking across the valley, and widened.

'Jondalar!' she said. He came over quickly.

Ayla pointed. 'Aurochs,' she said.

Jondalar's eyes also widened at the sight of the herd. 'One of those would give us a lot of food,' he said. 'And stuff for Wolf.'

Ayla nodded. 'It means we'll have to go across the valley.

'That doesn't matter,' Jondalar said. He bit his lip. 'They look far away, though.'

Ayla nodded, then mounted Whinney. 'We'll check out the valley later.'

They manoeuvred the horses down to the path into the valley and dismounted to lead them. Whinney tossed her head and snorted at the prospect of being back, and Racer seemed excited as well.

*

Ayla had been one woman travelling alone. Durc and his group were several travelling together, women and children. Usually, they would be moving slower. On the contrary, they were moving faster.

Ayla had been weighed down by grief, had had to set up and take down everything herself, was travelling just as winter ended, and could only hunt small animals, meaning she had to hunt every day. Durc and his group had taken a day out of their travels to hunt a bison, and had carved up and dried the meat. They hadn't had to hunt – they still had the meat from that. Durc's group also travelled longer, and hadn't needed shelter – the summer was warm enough.

The moon went through it's cycle, and the day was turning rapidly into evening. The Clan were beginning to get nervous, especially Uba as her pregnancy progressed. A moon and a half without a home – they wondered if their totems would still be with them.

Aga began feeding the baby Ayla as Droog spoke to Zoun. Durc watched them surreptitiously – he had always been fascinated by the baby Ayla. Durc said the name differently from the rest of the Clan – the put the emphasis on the first syllable, while everyone else put the emphasis on the second. The baby didn't look strange, having the large brow ridges and bow-legged stature typical of the Clan, but everyone treated her strangely. Though they wouldn't admit it around Broud, they all still held a certain reverence for Durc's mother Ayla, and there was no doubt that the baby who shared her name would turn out to be as strong and independent as the strange woman had been. Already the girl was showing signs of independence.

Drawing his eyes away from the baby, Durc looked ahead at the path they would take. He thought, in the far distance, he could see the flicker of fire, but dismissed it as nothing. There couldn't be anyone else out here, he was sure.

*

Ayla jerked up. She'd fallen asleep sitting by the fire. Quickly, she scrambled inside the tent to be near Jondalar, her left shoulder burning.

Jondalar was lying where she'd left him in the tent, his furs still wrapped around him. The medicine woman pulled back the furs and gingerly felt the wound in his side, shivering at the memory.

_The two humans hadn't been the only thing tracking the aurochs. A hyena, driven by hunger, had wanted to hunt down a sick animal, and had changed it's mind when it saw the two, standing away from the horses. It lurked among the bushes, then pounced. _

_Ayla's scream was drowned out only by Jondalar's. _

_A well placed spear by Ayla had killed the hyena. She'd suffered a hard bite on the arm, and it bled as she turned to look at the still form of Jondalar. The hyena had ripped into his side, and only Ayla's quick work had saved his life. _

They had been tracking the aurochs for seven days – they hadn't planned it that way, but the animals had been farther away than they thought. Ayla had paid close attention to the moon since then – since she and Jondalar had set out from the valley, one moon had cycled.

Jondalar's condition had improved since then, but he still slept most of the day. Ayla had neglected her own wound in favour of saving Jondalar, only taking time for herself when she had begun to develop infection. The infection had cleared up, but her arm still hurt. She rubbed the bandage on her upper arm. She was only able to ignore the pain when she was working on Jondalar's wound.

After Jondalar was well enough to be left alone for a short time, Ayla, on his urging, had gone out to hunt. One sick aurochs had been left behind when the herd had run from the hyena's smell, and it didn't take much to kill it. For the past few days, Ayla had used her one fire to dry the meat and cook stew for Jondalar.

Once she confirmed the man was all right, Ayla crawled back out of the tent. She wrapped her fur around her and huddled next to the fire, checking the meat occasionally to see if it had dried. Wolf chewed slowly on a meaty leg bone. He knew something was wrong, but couldn't quite place it.

She looked out into the distance. Ayla thought the could see the dot of fires, but shook her head. They couldn't be the fires of people, she decided. There was no one else here. Ayla looked up at the stars, the hearths in the sky, and wondered solemnly if her beloved Iza and Creb were still sharing one.

Neither Durc nor Ayla knew how close their groups were to the other.

*

Vorn watched as the body of the old woman was laid into the ground.

The woman had been his mate's mother. His mate…his mate had gone with Durc, and their son.

Brun watched with sorrow as Goov performed the Last Rites for the woman. She was the first to have died this past moon. The only ones who remained now were old. Few would last much longer.

Broud clenched his fists. That woman had taken the respect Brun had for him, and now her son was taking his clan. It was infuriating, and shameful. He wanted revenge.


	6. Bonus chapter: Behind the Scenes

A little-seen member of the Clan, Kuhu, shuffled forward, and sat down at the feet of her readers. 'This woman wishes to speak.'

When the readers allowed her, she began to explain. 'This story has not been continued for a very long time. This woman wishes to make known her sorrow at this. She wishes to continue the story soon, but there are things she must do first.

'There are things this woman put in the story originally that are incorrect. When she was first writing this more than six years ago, her grammar was not as good as it is now and she confused words like "then" and "than". She soon after learned the difference, but did not look back at the story to see she had made the mistake. This woman is ashamed for this and begs her readers to forgive her. She will need to edit previous chapters to reflect her increased knowledge.

'This woman also miscalculated the timeline. She has found a way to correct this, but did not know how to when she was younger. The last couple of chapters are poorer quality because of this. This woman will fix those too, and begs forgiveness.

'This woman will get the rest of the story completed as fast as she can. She wishes her readers to have patience, and would like to make known that she is grateful for them accepting her absence for so long.

'Please continue to check the story.' Kuhu stood up, and demurely shuffled back to her place to continue her work on _The Legend of Durc_.


End file.
